GeorgeBMac

An excerpt from an article from the NewYorkTimes says that scientists have shown (in rats) that exercize actually stimulates the brain to create new brain cells ('neurogenesis'):

'...Then the scientists examined all of the animals’ brains. They found that, compared with the sedentary animals, the running rats had significantly more of a potent testosterone derivative called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, in their brains. Even the brains of rats that had been castrated sloshed with DHT.

So the exercise had prompted increased production of the hormone.

Most of the animals also had a plethora of new neurons in the hippocampus, a portion of the brain associated with learning and memory ....

This tells us that the uptake of DHT in the brain after exercise “appears to be a necessary step in achieving adult hippocampal neurogenesis,” Dr. McEwen says."

So, while the axiom: "Taking care of the heart is taking care of the brain" is becoming increasingly accepted in medical science (because it increases blood flow to the brain). Now we are also being told that exercize actually acts directly on the brain to cause it to build new neurons.

All this contradicts the conventional wisdom that "You are born with "x" number of neurons and every year a few more die".

For myself: after spending the summer biking nearly everyday, my mind feels sharper, clearer and quicker. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking -- but perhaps not? Perhaps I grew some new neurons?

A link to the article:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...se/?ref=health

Retro Grouch 

YES!

Sitting on a bicycle saddle stimulates the neurons in the tushie and allows you to use other parts of your body for cognitive processes. At least that's what my wife says.

gevad 

In my case, it's just preventing me from being really, really stupid.

stapfam

I would say NO. The more I ride the bike- the more I find things that could need adapting- adjusting or replacing. If I was really smart the bike would fit first time and I would not need those Dure-Ace wheels that I cannot afford.

parnote

OH NO!

According to those hair plug commercials on TV, DHT is what's responsible for male baldness! So exercise/physical activity increases DHT levels?

Someone call Bosley!

Ali_Pine

Maybe it's survival of the fitest. 'Dumb' riders die on the road. 'Smart' riders make it to old age. The gene pool is reduced as a result.

Mort Canard

Duh! Whut?

David Bierbaum

Bicycling doesn't make me smarter faster than the internet makes me dumber...

Sculptor7

It clears my mind and fuels my creative energy. Often I find myself dreaming up a new project or a solution to an older one.

In regard to the OP perhaps it is just that smarter people are more likely to bike.

BTW where do they get those tiny little bicycles for the rats?

rubic

Biking most certainly makes you, um, duh, smarter. If you don't believe me, ask me. Okay, the truthful answer to the question is, no.

Since I am not running for office, I have no reason to lie....

Mobile 155

I would say no. With all of the bone heads on the wrong side of the street, running red lights, riding at night wearing black and no lights or reflector IQ doesn't seemed to be improved for about 25 percent of the riders in my town. At least they will be healthy bone heads.

Looigi

Does that imply the level of intelligence of participants in these forums would be less if they stopped riding? Scary thought.

trackhub

Don't think it makes you smarter. I've been riding my entire adult life, and I still cannot figure out a method and means to make a few million dollars, legally, quickly, and safely.

jim p

Riding has greatly improved my quality of life. My mind does seem to be clear but that could just be an illusion induced by the natural pain killers that the body produces. Maybe this argument can be used to justify having a bike that does not fit correctly. The greater the pain the more natural pain killers that the body will produce.

Retro Grouch 

Why that's easy. Just invest a whole lot of other people's money in some kind of real estate derivitive deals. It doesn't matter what they are because nobody knows what they are and it doesn't even matter if they do well. At the end of the year you'll get a bonus bigger than my whole lifetime earnings because your boss doesn't understand either and he'll think it's important to retain your talent.

cccorlew

Go read the road forum then revisit your hypothesis.

Daspydyr 

I think cycling allows you to focus and think for an extended period of time. Where else can you get a couple hours to think?

If you ask my wife, cycling has helped us meet medical professionals and employee delivery truck drivers bringing a constant stream of new and used do da's. Cycling stimulates the economy.

Seriously, though I think the exercise is helpful in many ways, mentally, emotionally and physically.

Dudelsack 

Gravity Aided

Got to agree .
good for the mind,
good for the economy,
good for the body,
good for the world
Cycling is a world of good
on two wheels

rubic

If you can thevenize and electrical circuit after cycling when you could not do it before, then cycling does make you smarter. Just sayin'.

Connell

I've been cycling most of my life but think I hit my intellectual peak when I was about 17. I pretty much knew everything there was to know back then. I seem to have forgotten a lot of it since.

GeorgeBMac

+1
... Wouldn't it be great to be as smart -- and as indestructible -- as we were at 17?

But, seriously (although not many have taken this thread seriously -- but then the only thing this forum takes seriously are chain cleaning threads!): I posted this thread because I think it is quite relavent to us 50+'rs...

As nurse, I have seen far too many people with legs that were horribly discolored and swollen due to excess fluid and infection as a result of heart and circulatory problems. And, if that is happening to their legs, what is going on with their brains?

The blood carries the fuel (and antibodies) to all the organs and pieces of the body. If it doesn't get there in sufficient quantities those parts begin to rot and die -- and I don't think it matters whether it is legs or brains. If the heart and circulatory system aren't able to get them the stuff they need, they start to weaken and die.

So, for us 50+'rs facing the possibility of dementia, I think this article is particularly relevent as: not only does cycling help to keep the blood supply going which will help keep the existing neurons healthy -- but it points out that exercize even helps the brain create new neurons.

The Alzheiner's Assoc had effectively convinced most of the world that most dementias were the result of some mysterious disease of plaques in the brain called "Alzheimers". Medical science is beginning to realize that most cases of dementia are the result of definicies in blood flow to the brain.

Cycling is one of the most effective ways of promoting heart and circulatory health. It not only makes the heart a stronger pump, but it promotes a healthier balance of things like cholesterol which helps to maintain a healthy circulatory system. I think most people on this forum cycle at least partly because it is good for the heart and good for the body. But, for myself, I fear dementia far more than I do a heart attack. A heart attack can take you out fairly quickly. Dementia means years of being waterboarded...

So, while we 50'rs may not be as a smart as we were at 17 -- I think cycling is one of the best ways to insure that we stay as smart as we can be (given our gene pools)...

Rowan

One of the things I have found is that people who bike a fair bit for things like grocery runs and commuting generally are better planners.

Even teacherlady indicated this in her thread when planning a long ride.

Perhaps the discipline of taking into account delays, cycling amenity along the route, maybe fixing flat tyres and so on, does mean a more active mind.

And there should be few occasions when a rider has a blank mind. There is always something to think about on a bike, even if it's just looking for escape routes if a car or another bike threatens your position on the road. Then in between might be thinking about how to save the world...

Oh yes, it needs an active mind to ride a bike.

And there is the constant and increased flow of nutrients and repair materials to the brain that need to be taken into account. Putting aside dehydration issues, it's amazing how a decrease in blood sugars can influence your thinking.

Generally, a more efficient body physiologically also has to have an effect on how active the brain remains.

Dan Burkhart 

Me too. My parents were at their dumbest about the same time. Amazing how much smarter they became in the ensuing years.

Gravity Aided

And we cyclists are gaining in balance and muscle tone . Others may not be.